Category: Vitan Praful Patel

I was invited by school faculty to deliver a lecture on ” How did I manage to score 6 A* and 1 A in my IGCSE exams?”

I started off by introducing myself and the subjects I chose. I talked about how in order to achieve something you have never achieved before, you need to do something you have never done before. I realised how it was difficult for me to talk about my strategies as I never documented them in a systematic manner, but followed them because it was natural to me. I was stunned at their innocent and frank way of querying, which resulted in this formal ‘lecture’ turning into an informal ‘talk’.

Some of my strategies that I shared were:

• Sort out your priorities.
• Revision for the win.
• Key points of a concept are the ‘key to success’.

I told them how important it is for one to not cheat in their exams or take any sort of shortcuts to score good marks. I also urged them to act with integrity as studies balanced with principles can overtake any kind of shortcuts you might be lured into taking. I also talked about how one’s aptitude can determine his or her career and therefore should perform up to the optimum level.

In the Q and A session that followed, a student asked me to share my notes with them. For a moment, I was baffled because I didn’t really make any kind of notes for most of the subjects; I only tried to address the concepts in a non-written manner. I understood how the international issue of everyone being unique had been touched upon. I promptly responded by saying, ” The notes you make for yourself are the best notes for you”. I also advised that scoring marks is not quintessential and one should not ignore their health, family,etc. I think this is a major issue of concern as scoring good marks is put next to winning in life, which is not the case every time. I believe that kids are like fresh, wet cement; the impression you give them, stays forever.

The faculty was duly impressed with my comprehensive approach and also praised me for abiding by “Honesty is the best policy.” I ended the talk with thanking the faculty to give me such a wonderful platform to address younger, dynamic minds.